Prison Overcrowding

Two organizations that represent corrections officers at Alabama prisons want to join a lawsuit that seeks to relieve overcrowded conditions at Tutwiler Prison for women in Wetumpka.

The Alabama State Employees Association and the Alabama Correctional Officers Association are filing a motion seeking to intervene in the lawsuit filed by Tutwiler inmates.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson has ruled that Tutwiler is dangerous because there are too many inmates and not enough officers to watch them. Thompson has rejected one plan submitted by the state and is waiting for Gov. Bob Riley to submit a new plan for correcting conditions at Tutwiler.

The director of the Alabama State Employees Association, Mac McArthur, said Alabama's prisons are extremely overcrowded. He said at a news conference Monday that the condition is endangering the lives of corrections officers and the public.

McArthur said the employees association may seek to expand the lawsuit to cover all state prisons.

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